


Fortified

by Sounddrive



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 17:36:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16163642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sounddrive/pseuds/Sounddrive
Summary: Nadia and Lyra actually have a moment to spend together, actually making a blanket fort in Nadia's private quarters. Surprisingly, their conversation turns to something rather personal.





	Fortified

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from my fan apprentice blog.
> 
> I am not exactly sure when this would actually happen, but I suspect it is somewhere between after Nadia and MC venture into Vesuvia together so that Nadia could get a feel for how Vesuvia has become under the rule of the Courtiers, and before going out on horseback and then going to Vlastomil’s.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy reading this! :D

This was one of those rare times that Lyra suspected that Nadia could actually indulge in something like this.

“And does this go here?” Nadia inquired, bringing another chair over. The servants had quite a few glances exchanged between them when the Countess had asked them to deliver these chairs to her private quarters. Nonetheless, the chairs were put to use.

Lyra stood back from their creation in progress, squinting. With a nod, Lyra returned to her previous spot. She lifted the giant bed sheet up so Nadia could scoot the final chair beneath it.

“Alrighty, that should be enough for me and you, Nadia,” Lyra grinned. Getting on her hands and knees, she crawled into the little fort they just constructed. Not a moment later, the bespectacled apprentice popped back out, asking, “Can I throw some pillows in here too?”

“Whatever for?” Nadia’s expression is curious, if not at the least bemused.

“Well,” Lyra stood on her feet then, straightening herself and her glasses, “it’ll be something to sit on besides leaning our backs against the side of the bed, and the floor.”

Honestly, the floor was so _polished_ Lyra could swear she could see her reflection in it.

With a nod in understanding, Nadia directed her to a small trunk in a corner of the room. “There should be some cushions in there that should be fine.”

Lyra dug into the trunk, pulling out some worn, well loved cushions. Towards the bottom, she came across one that seemed to be completely encrusted with jewels and the like, embroidered with what seemed to be artistic depictions of two white canines on each corner.

“Ah, never mind that one, Lyra,” Nadia strode over, looking at the pillow with great distaste. “I will be having that one put away, along with…several other effects.”

It took Lyra only a moment to realize what she meant.

_“Ohhhhhh.”_

“I’ll have Portia take it out later; you may return it to that trunk.”

Lyra promptly threw the gaudy thing back into the trunk, the pillow clinking in protest as she shut the lid over it.

As the apprentice turned around, she found that Nadia had already returned to the mouth of the blanket fort. The Countess crouched down before it, tilting her head to the side to examine the interior.

It made Lyra almost giddy.

“Have you ever made blanket forts before?” Lyra inquired, approaching her.

“Not since I was a little girl,” Nadia admitted. A small smile graced her face as she turned to the apprentice. “ _You,_ however, seem to be an expert in building such things.”

Lyra flushed at the observation, averting her eyes from Nadia’s crimson pupils. “Er, thank you. I actually do these a lot at the shop, when it’s not busy-especially when Asra is not around…”

At her tone, Nadia raised an eyebrow. They had discussed that despite the fact Lyra did indeed live with Asra, there were no romantic connotations at hand. _Nonetheless…_

“Does your teacher not approve of you making these?” Nadia settled to sit on one of the cushions, her gaze following Lyra’s form as she followed suit.

“ _No_ , it’s not that,” Lyra replied. “Sometimes…well,” she folded her arms atop her knees, resting her chin on them. She heaved a heavy sigh, her expression gloomy.

“Asra is known for being _‘The Wandering Magician’_ for a reason. Sometimes he’d be gone from anywhere between a few days to almost a month,  like that _one_ time…

“A-and the shop doesn’t always get customers. When we do it’s usually the same three to five people, or someone looking to get their fortune read from him. And when he’s not there, they just… _leave_ …”

Unbeknownst to her, Nadia looked at her with an expression of sympathy.

“I’m alone a lot of the time in there, and I get bored,” Lyra continued, “as much as I love reading books, sometimes I need to _do_ something, you know? I’m still a little… _nervous_ to venture outside of the neighborhood on my own, so…" Lyra simply shrugged.

Before Nadia can say anything, the apprentice added, “This here,” she gestured to the blanket fort just off to the side, “this is one of the simpler styles I’ve done in the shop. Well, more like the _only_  style. I’ve tried to do more elaborate versions but they’ve always…they’ve always fallen apart on me.”

Lyra shook her head, lifting her spectacles up with one hand so that she could rub at her eyes with the other.

There’s a beat of silence. Lyra’s gaze was then angled at the floor, a translucent version of herself looking back with an expression of a sort of heartache she couldn’t fully fathom.

“…Lyra.” The shorter one of the pair immediately straightened up, hands bracing the cool tile of the floor. Her gaze whisked back to Nadia.

“Yes, m’- _Nadia,”_  Lyra coughed, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“We built this together.” The Countess reached out and grasped one of Lyra’s hands into her own. Giving a gentle squeeze, Nadia added, “I would like to sit in it with you.”

Lyra blinked. She glanced back at their blanket fort, just waiting for them to settle in there for a time.

Once the apprentice got to her feet, Nadia followed suit. She rose like an elegant spire, and Lyra couldn’t help but be in awe of her.

Arm outstretched to their little fort, Lyra murmured, “After you, Nadia.”

Lyra was relieved when she saw that the ceiling of their little creation was indeed tall enough to accommodate the both of them.

As the apprentice ducked down, she carefully arranged the pillows within the blanket fort so they could sit comfortably. That task done, Lyra snapped her fingers together, and she produced a small orb of light within her right palm.

Once she was sure it wouldn’t blind them both, Lyra settled beside Nadia. The former settled her arm atop a flat cushion, her dominant hand maintaining the gentle light.

They were shoulder to shoulder, side to side, and settled in comfortable silence.

Outside the window, even with the curtains partially drawn over them, Nadia and Lyra could see the twinkling of the stars in the night sky.


End file.
